April Playlist

New month, new playlist! Join us to discover the selection we have crafted for our readers to listen to this April.

From catchy songs to harmonious melodies and mind-blowing covers, we have your back!

Marie's selection:

BTS - ON

Over 40 million views in less than 24 hours for each of the two music videos. Is it commercial? Hell yes! But it’s still a catchy bop, perfect if you need a (not so) little pick-me-up. In line with their usual self-love messages, the Korean boy group encourages us to keep

fighting even through our difficult times.

Nada Surf - Always Love “To make a mountain of your life is just a choice.” I could make this opening line my life motto. There is something weirdly soothing about the mid-2000s' alternative rock sound.‌ Or maybe it’s just the memory of my student years and it shows my age?

Pierre's selection:

Smells Like Teen Spirit (Nirvana) - Rockin’1000

Let me introduce you to something mythical, one of the best songs, from the best grunge group of the world: “Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Nirvana. From the 1991 Nevermind album, the one that allowed Nirvana to rise to fame. Among all the covers, this has to be the best one: played by the group “Rockin’1000”. This unique group brings together one thousand artists at the same time giving this song a festival atmosphere.

Love (Imagine Dragons) - Playing for Change

Another cover, “Love” by Imagine Dragons: a song of love, humanity, and brotherhood (we need to remember all of this and avoid making mistakes).

My choice, among the other covers, is the one from Playing for Change: A non-profit association, who finances projects (like the creation of music schools), which is made possible with the help a multitude of artists around the world.

Sylvain's selection:

So Close - Ólafur Arnalds feat. Arnór Dan

This song is a blend of melodies where the lyrics matter less than the musical instruments and the voice became a part of the musical instrument group, as the harmony of sounds leads you to an imaginary world.

Nos joies répétitives - Pierre Lapointe

This song, and the artist himself, are, to me, terribly interesting in the way the lyrics are written, as there is a real work on clever words game, rhymes, tone, added to a beautiful piano and vocal score.

So Tied Up - Cold War Kids ft. Bishop Briggs

In this pulse music, I personally find the music video very funny in a spiritual and afterward thinking way, original, extravagant and absurd, and the song is very catchy!

Belkacem's selection:

Adanta - Ryuichi Sakamoto

The legendary Japanese composer Ryuichi Sakamoto (even if the name doesn't mean anything to you, you must have seen a movie for which he has composed the music) was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014 and underwent rigorous radiology treatment to combat it. Three years after his diagnosis, Sakamoto returned with an album bearing a sense of mortality surrounding its every sound. Sakamoto thought async would be his last album: "That’s why I tried to forget all the rules and forms, anything. I just wanted to put down just what I wanted to hear, just a sound or music, it doesn’t matter. This could be the last time." There are warmth and fragility to the album here that makes it stand apart from these works.

Les Marquises - Jacques Brel "Mourir, cela n'est rien, mourir, la belle affaire..." [Dying, that’s nothing, dying, big deal…] This album testament is, entirely, an exorcism, the last hunt for demons, before the victory of the Grim Reaper that we know is very close. Already operated for his cancer, Brel retired to Polynesia. He wanted to die there but takes a leap back to Paris to record the album we commonly call "Les Marquises", his swan song before returning to the southern hemisphere to spend his last days. "Brel" is the ultimate dance. The one where we give all that remains in us. Sex and death are the main themes; this album is, therefore, and in every sense of the term, essential. It's the most extreme of Brel, and, without doubt, the darkest.

You can add our playlist on Spotify, to play it on repeat!

And we’re curious, so tell us what songs are on your personal playlist this month in the comments.